• MYOB sync : previously was syncing all receive spares invoices as a single bill into MYOB.  Now syncing as separate individual bills
• View unit:  show date of last curtailment/paid out date
• Unit reports: new report - display all floorplans paid out in the reporting period

• Clerk key security  - add new security option : to make sure only limited staff can do a sale where cash-till result is no-cash collected/deferred.  Note that this change forces a change in order of point of sale operations. Previously you would key in the clerk key and then select payment method. This change switches the order.  Clerk key is provided after payment method is selected.
• Login security - add new security switch 'Mechanic only'.  For login user with only this switch set, they can only access job clocking functions. It is impossible to view any other part of the software.
• Clerk key entry : if clerk key does not have permission then explain why permission is denied
• Unit reports - new report. Purchase report. Shows purchase costs and writebacks (for tradeins); organised by unit make.

• Installed new MYOB security access key. This one appears to work.
• Cash till report - allow users to key in -ve amounts for EFT takings (also permit negatives for CHQ and Misc)
• Business Audit Report : prints business recent activity records in order they are added to database. Useful for auditing business behaviour, such as accidental modification of transaction dates/times which can throw cash-till report out.

Instead of re-keying part numbers discovered in Parts Manager Pro (PMP) into c9; you can setup PMP to save parts onto the computer and have c9 pick those parts up.

Read more...

C9, and some of our competitor DMS platforms, offer the ability to query available stock while in the middle of point of sale.

In c9, you select a part on screen and press the 'F12' key. It will query for quantity held by the supplier.

For example:

For dealers, this ability is a massive time saver; and saves them the hassle to login to a dealer website and re-key the part number in order to query to see if the item is in the country; or call the supplier to query for the part.  The result is better experience for everyone, the spare parts manager, the supplier and importantly the customer on the other side of the counter.

For suppliers to offer this feature to C9 or other DMS they need to publish some sort of Internet based integration application programming interface that will allow DMS platforms to connect in.

Read more...

• Harley Davidson KPI reporting
• Workshop profit reporting ; added ability to slice/dice profit figures across different considerations. i.e. unit manufacturer, type of job etc.
  
• Export Price file : auto-create and default to a folder called pricefileexport
• Process web order : make view/merge screens more keyboard friendly so they can be stepped through faster
• Spares quote : default to either receipt or invoice depending on customer type
• Credit note - default cash refund based on whether or not original invoice was a receipt or invoice. Previous behaviour was to look at status of account customer only and default based on that.
• Miner - make report aggregation case insensitive. i.e. Suzuki, SUZUKI, and suzuki all aggregate to a single record
  
• Accounting package sync - MYOB sync appears to be silently failing for a customer; with no record anywhere as to why.  Added more logging information and application feedback in order to try and understand cause of the problem .
  
• Online backups - computer memory usage running very high on server.  Partial changes on server to fix this.  Further changes included in this release to further alleviate the issue (changes to network compression algorithms to not compress so aggressively)

Important Note:  Next generation SQL MYOB products, i.e. AccountRight 2011 and 2012 do not integrate.  MYOB's latest product will not integrate with any 3rd party software, not just c9.  MYOB have promised to rectify this oversight and make sure old integration features are eventually in the new product but no solution exists as yet.  In the meantime, make sure you get an older generation v19 based MYOB product. If you get the wrong one,  apparently MYOB can help you get an older one.  But keep in mind you cannot migrate data in newer product back to the older product.

The following explains how to synchronize C9 data into MYOB Account Right.

This step needs to be performed on the computer where MYOB is installed.  MYOB does not have to be open for the synchronization to work, but the process executes faster if it is - so it is recommended to open the company file in MYOB when doing this.

Synchronize from C9 to MYOB

On first synchronization, you need to tell C9 where MYOB is installed and what c9 suppliers map to what MYOB suppliers. You need to ensure that suppliers are created in MYOB first. C9 will not create suppliers for you.

To access synchronization goto:

• Business
• Synchronize

Read more...

Important Note:  Next generation SQL MYOB products, i.e. AccountRight 2011 and 2012 do not integrate.  MYOB's latest product will not integrate with any 3rd party software, not just c9.  MYOB have promised to rectify this oversight and make sure old integration features are eventually in the new product but no solution exists as yet.  In the meantime, make sure you get an older generation v19 based MYOB product. If you get the wrong one,  apparently MYOB can help you get an older one.  But keep in mind you cannot migrate data in newer product back to the older product.

C9 now supports integration into MYOB Account Right.  For integration to work you need to setup your Company files so that it grants permission to c9 to access and synchronize information.

Premier edition of MYOB should not require these steps.

Firstly, you need to register online with MYOB to indicate to MYOB that you allow C9 to access your software.

Read more...

MYOB Integration completed.  Initially supports synchronization of spares orders to MYOB (same as Quickbooks)

Wll add some posts shortly to explain how to

• Setup your MYOB so it will integrate with c9 ( AccountRight Standard edition only. Premier edition is supposed to work automatically)

• Perform synchronization via c9

You can never have too many backups.

Setup a tertiary backup solution over the weekend. So customer data using online backup service is now managed across 3 separate servers.

1. Our primary web server c8software.com.au (hosted in Melbourne, Australia by cloud services company web24)
2. A cloud VPS service running in the United States (hosted by a large cloud services company Rackspace)
3. A new third server running on c9 premises

The new backup also replaces c9's backup strategy for c9 software and c9 assets itself.  Prior system used rotating offsite backup taken weekly.

The new system will bring in following over next few days as well

• Two offsite backup locations.  One rotated every couple of days,  And the other rotated weekly
• Regular snapshot/checkpointing of customer online backup data. Online backup server copies data instantaneously, to all 3 servers. But it only contains current data; snapshots/checkpoints is about recording data at a point of time; so you can refer back to  data as it was at a point in time in the past.  Currently checkpoints run at the start of the month.  New server will permit running a daily checkpoint (retaining upto 45 days of data).